Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Jack Grealish for 'doing everything' Pep Guardiola wants him to do at Manchester City.
01.04.2023 - 15:51 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Pep Guardiola picked out Julian Alvarez and John Stones for praise after Manchester City beat Liverpool in the Premier League.
Alvarez was tasked with leading the line against Liverpool in Erling Haaland's absence, while Stones got the nod at right-back over Kyle Walker. Instead of playing as a traditional right-back, Stones migrated into defensive midfield and barely put a foot wrong against a physical Liverpool midfield.
And City boss Guardiola was delighted with both players - particularly opening goalscorer Alvarez - for stepping into critical roles and carrying out their responsibilities well.
ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola gives verdict on Jack Grealish performance for Man City vs Liverpool FC
Regarding Alvarez, Guardiola said there were no major tactical tweaks compared to how City normally line up with Haaland.
"Nothing changes. The quality, football the tactic is players," he said. "With Erling you have something special and Julian is something special as well. The vision to have the second one, play that position to Riyad, he was important first three goals.
"With the ball he was so clever and so intelligent, he played with national team, world champions, if you aren’t good you cannot play in a world champion team. Thank you so much for the scouting and Txiki [Begiristain] to discover him and for this price. He’s so humble, he made a really good game."
When asked about Stones, Guardiola was pleased with the defender's positioning, as well as highlighting the role of three other players in making the tactic effective.
He explained: "It’s not easy for him, he has the quality to play there, it’s different when you see the game in front of you, he’s surrounded by their players.
"Like a bubble, to play there is not
Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Jack Grealish for 'doing everything' Pep Guardiola wants him to do at Manchester City.
Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to four points in a weekend where Pep Guardiola's side became hot favourites for a fifth title in six seasons.
Pep Guardiola has a Man City 'luxury' in being able to substitute key players without a significant dip in quality.
Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Manchester City's defence for their part in Tuesday's 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Bayern Munich.
Thomas Tuchel lamented 'two or three' risky mistakes from his Bayern centre-back Dayot Upamecano as Manchester City built a commanding lead in their Champions League quarter-final.
Manchester City supporters are calling for Pep Guardiola to bring Kyle Walker back into the starting line-up for their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has highlighted Pep Guardiola's substitution of John Stones against Southampton for inspiring the Blues to victory.
Manchester City have again managed to pile the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 4-1 win over Southampton.
Manchester City will have the chance to heap title pressure on Arsenal once again this weekend when they travel to bottom club Southampton on Saturday evening before the Gunners take on Liverpool at Anfield a day later.
Jack Grealish capped appearing in his 17th-straight Manchester City match with a goal and an assist against Liverpool over the weekend.
A man was taken to hospital after a crash in Oldham.
Police have issued an appeal for help to find man who is wanted on recall to prison,
A second man has appeared in court accused of the murder of Zikel Bobmanuel in east Manchester.
Manchester City midfield ace Kevin De Bruyne has waxed lyrical about Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish after they made telling contributions in Saturday's 4-1 win over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes the Premier League title race could hinge on the outcome of Arsenal's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool next weekend.
Arsenal defender Ben White has revealed he ignored Manchester City's victory over Liverpool on Saturday because he doesn't watch football.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland praised teammate Jack Grealish for his personal performance in the convincing win over Liverpool on Saturday.
Manchester City fans were quick to react to Pep Guardiola's goal celebration in front of Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas during the Blues' win over Jurgen Klopp's side.
Nathan Ake insists the Manchester City squad are getting used to playing three at the back amid Pep Guardiola’s recent tactical change.
Jack Grealish puts his fine Manchester City form down to confidence, telling Pep Guardiola he wants to play every game until the end of the season.